Connecter



March 2l, 1933. R. c. McALLlsTER 1,902,038

CONNECTER Filed May 6, 1952 INVENTOR.

H15' A TTORNEY Patented Mer. 21, 1933 narran STATES ATT :RAYMOND c.` MCALLISTEE, kor PAINTED rosT, YNEW Youri, .eisers-Non 'ro' ING-E'EsoLL- RAND cor/rrANY, or JERSEY CITY, NEW JEEsEY, A coaPcEArroN or NEW JERSEY l 1 CONNECTER Application flied Mays, 1932.. serial No. 609,753.

This inventionflrelates to connecters, but

rod adapted to work in substantially coaxial 5 relationship'. ln multi-stage compressors it is sometimes convenient to arrangethe separate'stages thereof in tandem with an eXtension of the piston in onefstage acting as the piston'in a higher stage. It is commonly arranged that thepiston in the higher stage is upon its compression strolre Vat the time that the .piston of the lowerstage is upon the intake stroke and vice versa, thereby placing a more constant'load upon the driving member.'

In practice, however, it sometimes becomes very expensive to alignV the compression cylinders with the meticulous accuracynecessary when the e-Xtensionof one piston itself acts as a piston in another cylinder. The accuracy requirements are not impracticably close in compressors of comparatively low pressure, for in such cases working tolerances may be relatively greaty and the clearance made up by packing,rpiston rings, or by similar leakage prevention devices. In compressors, however, in which the inal stage is adapted to compress air or other gases to an extremely high pressure, as to 10,000 or 15,000 pounds per square inch, piston rings and other packing devices are inadequate t0 withstand such pressures unless the tolerances between metal surfaces are extremely minute and it is commercially impracticable to align cylinders with the eXtreme accuracy necessitated by such minute tolerances;

It is an object of this invention to provide a. connecting means between the piston of the lower stage cylinder and the pistonof the higher stage cylinder of a type which will permit an appreciable disalignment between the cylinders but will transmit the thrust of one piston to the other so that although separate pistons are employed and they are slightly out of coaxial alignment, nevertheless they are for all practical mechanical purposes a single piston and extension. y

Other objects are either apparent or will be pointed out hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through 'a connecting box between compressor stages which encloses the connecter which is .the subject of thej present invention,

Figure 2 is an housing, .p

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the double socket joint employed in theV connecter, and

Figure fl is 'a-sectional Viewy of the connecter in which the connected members are shown out of alignment;` Y

outside view of the connecter Y A cylinder casing 5 ofva low pressure cylinder is connected to a rcylinder casingof a high pressure cylinder-by a connectingbox 9.l An extension 171 ofthe low pressure cylin- Y der piston extends through ysuitable packing 1 3 of the lowl pressure cylinder into the Vconnecting bon' 9. vA piston Y15 from the high pressure cylinder 7 entendsthroughfa rear cylinder closure 17 intothe connecting box. 9.-

Upon a threaded end 19 of the piston eX- tension l1 is a nut 21. Also threaded on the end .1 9 isa connecter housing 23 which is provided with a hexagonal head 2 5 for convenience in assembly. The hexagonal head 25 andthe nut 21 are adapted to be forced together in pressureloclring engagement. The connecter housing 23 is preferably; cylindrical Vor barrel-shaped and jhasahollow center into which extends a rounded tip 27 of the rod ll. Abutting the4 rounded tip 27 is a double-ended socket 29 in the form of a spool which may have an annular groove 31 in the middle'` and having at each end concavities 33. f One of the concavities 33 is adaptedto engage the convex tip 27 of the extension 11.` The concavities 33 are preferably of the same radius as the rounded tip 27 to permit easy lmove-ment of the socket upon thetip.

nterposed betweenthe button37 of -the1`00 piston 15 and the end of the connecter 23 through which the piston 15 extends is a spring 39 which is preferably maintained at suiiicienttension to maintain the button 37 of thepiston 15 in constant engagement With a concavity 33 of the spool 29 when the piston 15 is on its suction stroke. It Will be obvious that the tension on this spring can be readily adjusted by regulating the distance by which the head 27 of the piston extension 11 projects into the connecter housing 23.

In order to introduce grease for lubricating purposes a hole 11 is provided through the housing 23. I

In operation the spool 29 acts as a double socket for a double ball and socket joint iny which the spool 29 is the socket and the rounded ends 27 and 37 are the balls. In this Way the thrustof the piston extension 11 may be transmitted directly to the piston 15 through an appreciable angular displacement by means of the spool `29. It Will be clear that this angular displacement Will vary according-to the position of the piston 15,

the angle being greater When the'piston has reached the end of its compression stroke and less when the piston hasreached the end of its intake stroke. Thus it Will be seen that the spool 29 is constantly oscillating through a small arc during the operation of the compressor and the piston 15 is similarly changing its position With respect to the opening 35 in the casing 23. A reference to Figure 4: Will illustrate this condition.

Having thus described this invention, I claim:

4. A connecter comprising a casing adaptedV to be attached to a driving member and having a bore therethrough, a driven member extending into the bore, convex ends on the driving member and the driven member, an intermediate member having concave sockets in engagement With the convex ends of the drivingand driven members, and means to hold the driven member against axial movement With respectto the casing.

5. A connecter comprising a casing adaptedto be attached to a driving member and having a bore therethrough, a driven member extending into the bore, convex ends on the driving member andthe driven member, an intermediate member having concave sockets in Vengagement Withthe convex ends of the driving and driven members, and a spring acting upon the driven vmember and upon the casing to hold them against relative axial movement.

6. A connectercomprising a casing, a driving memberafxed thereto and having a spherical end surface, a drivenmember eX- tending loosely into the casing and having a spherical surface, means interposed between the members and having spherical endsurfaces to seat against the yspherical surfaces on the driving and driven members, and means acting against the driven member to hold the spherical surfaces in lcontact with each other. -v

Intestimony whereof I have signed this specification.

RAYMOND o. MCALLISTER.

' 1. A connecter comprising a casing adapted to be attached to a driving member and having a bore therethrough, a driven member extending into the bore, means inthe bore movable with respect to the driving member and the driven-member and seating against the adjacent 'ends of the members, and means acting upon the driven member to hold the Y driven member in Contact With said movable means. l

2. A connecter comprising a casing adapted to be attached to a driving member and having a bore therethrough, a driven member extending into the bore, means in the bore movable with respect tothe driving member and the driven member and interposedy therebetween, and means acting upon the casing and the driven member to hold the driven member in Contact With said movable means.

3. A connecter comprising a casing adapted to be attached to a driving member and having a bore therethrough, a driven member extending into the bore, means in the bore movable with respect to the driving member and the driven member and interposed therebetween, and means in the casing acting upon the casing and the ydriven member to hold the driven member against axial movement with respect-to the casing. 

